Shoe cover transfer units



May 22, 156 H. c. PAULSEN 2,746,067

SHOE COVER TRANSFER UNITS Filed June 15, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Hans C. Pau/een F n I 0 H. c. PAULSEN 2,746,067

SHOE COVER TRANSFER UNITS May 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 15, 1952 fnvenfar Hans C. Paw/Sen y 1956 H. c. PAULSEN 2,746,057

SHOE COVER TRANSFER UNITS Filed June 13, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 22, 1956 H. c. PAULSEN 2,746,067

SHOE COVER TRANSFER UNITS Filed June 13, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor Hans C. Fau /5 en United States Patent SHOE COVER TRANSFER UNITS Hans C. Paulsen, Medforri, Mass, assignor to B. B. Chemical (30., Boston, Mass, a corporation of lhlassachusetts Application .lune 13, 1952, Serial No. 293,466

11 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) This invention relates to supply holders for stacks of nested shoe covers ready for removal, one at a time, for transfer to lasted shoes preparatory to the attachment of the marginal portions of the covers to the lower margins of the shoes. It is concerned particularly with holders for the type of shoe cover which in shape resembles the upper of a shoe and is closed at the heel end as by sticking together the terminal portions of the cover which was cut from a sheet.

One preferred way of shipping such covers to the manufacturer, who is to apply them to his shoes to protect them during the course of the making thereof, especially the bottoming operations, is by nesting a group of perhaps a dozen such covers of the same size. The covers in question are prepared by applying to one surface of a translucent thin sheet of plastic material an adhesive coating which is not pressure sensitive and which may be readily activated by the application of heat and light pressure. Although these covers are dusted with an inert powder when they are made, the film-like sheet material of which they are manufactured is so thin that it is somewhat trying for the operator to separate the topmost cover from the stack especially since, in the course of packing and handling them, they tend to stick together slightly. It has been found that it is convenient to invert the topmost cover of a stack and draw it over the cone of a lasted shoe after which the margins of the cover are drawn manually over onto the bottom of the forepart of the shoe and are then presented to some apparatus for attaching the cover temporarily to the shoe, as by the application of heat and pressure.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a holder for stacks of nested covers to make it easy for the operator to draw off the topmost cover and transfer it to a shoe.

In accordance with this object, one feature of the invention resides in an improved holder mechanism having one or more spreader members which project through the ankle openings of the covers and draw them taut with, out interfering with the ready removal of the topmost cover.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, a shoe support having means to hold in normal position the heel end of an upright shoe (before the heel is applied thereto) is combined with such a holder which is mounted for movement into a position where the end of the topmost cover is in substantially contacting relation with a shoe on the support.

Customarily such covers are provided in a small number of sizes adapted to approximate the sizes of the shoes to which they are to be applied and the apparatus, in accordance with another feature of the invention, is provided with a movable carrier having a series of cover holders of novel construction so that any particular size may be brought into position adjacent to a shoe support and the topmost cover removed therefrom and applied to a shoe on the support. Conveniently, such a carrier will be arranged for indexing to bring the holder for a stack of covers of a chosen size into a position adjacent to a shoe.

As illustrated, the novel holder blocks are elongated to support a stack of closed shoe covers and each has spaced abutments, adapted for reception in the ankle openings of the covers, with means to spread said abutments apart. The heel end of the holder has a shoulder to determine the height of the stack and is provided with an overhanging member arranged to overlie the heel ends of the covers thereby to facilitate the reversal of the top cover and its removal for application to a shoe.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention, means is provided for moving a cover holder into position where the outside cover is close to a shoe and to cause a projection on the cover holder to engage the shoe last and hold it upon its support.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a stack of nested covers;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a carrier having a series of holders for stacks of covers;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a shoe on a shoe support and of adjacent holders for stacks of covers such as are shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the shoe support and the adjacent holders with the foremost one of these in vertical section;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V-V of Fig. 2, somewhat enlarged, through a portion of the carrier and showing one of the lower rolls on which it rides;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 2, also enlarged, showing one of the upper rolls on the carrier itself;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating a modified type of cover holder;

Fig. 8 is an angular view of a shoe on which a cover has been positioned and manually drawn in around the toe end of the bottom of the shoe; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical elevation of a modified cover holder arrangement having mechanism for moving the holder toward the shoe and also for gripping the shoe last to hold the shoe in position on its support.

Film type shoe covers which have been coated with adhesive on the inner surface and then dusted are inverted and nested together as in Fig. 1 to form a stack 10 of similar covers each having an ankle opening 12, a closed rear end 14 and a toe portion 16. Nested stacks of a single size are shipped in this condition. Conveniently, too, each cover may be provided with a tab 18 formed by folding back upon itself a portion of a projection formed when the cover is out out. These tabs have an advantage of being of double thickness and of having the adhesive surface hidden so that the operator may more readily start the separation of the top-most cover by lifting the tab attached thereto. The covers are cut from a sheet, in a form similar to that of a seamless shoe vamp and the rear end portion thereof is closed by a seam 20 (Fig. 8) made by sticking together the margins of the end portions of the cutout form.

To help the operator of a cover-applying machine to pick up a cover of the right size and to position it on a shoe, my invention provides an apparatus comprising a frame having a base 22 (Fig. 2), uprights 24 and 26 and an inclined board 23 having parallel ways 30 and 32 (Figs. 5 and 6) to facilitate the indexing movement of a carrier 34 comprising a bottom board 36 and notched stringers 38 and 40 shaped somewhat like the bridge boards of a. flight of stairs. On these are mounted a series of cross plates 42 attached to the horizontal portions of the stringers by screws.

At the bottom end of the inclined frame, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, the channel ways 30, 32 are each provided with a stud having a ball bearing roll 44 projecting through a hole in the top of the channel. On the tops of these rolls rest angle irons 46 attached to the stringers '38, 40. At the top end of the carrier there are studs secured to the stringers 38, (Fig. 6) and having ball bearing rolls 48 which run in the channels 30, 32, thus making four rolls in all. This carrier may conveniently be counterbalanced in a suitable fashion as by means of a weight 50 (Fig. 2) attached to the carrier by a cord 52 running over a pulley 54 on the frame.

For indexing this carrier 34, as it is moved manually along the ways past a shoe presenting position at which there may be a shoe support, its bottom board 36 has a series of teeth 56 (Fig. 2) attached thereto by bolts 57 and adapted to cooperate with a fixed abutment or hook 58 attached to the lower end of the inclined board 28 of the frame. The operator will tilt the carrier 34, lifting the teeth out of engagement with the abutment 58, if it is desired to lower the carrier, or will push the teeth over the abutment if it is desired to raise the carrier. To limit this tilting movement, the board 28 has an upright 60 at the top of which there is a limiting roll 62 positioned for engagement with the top of the angle iron 46. A stop block 63 is secured to the channel 30 to engage the upper roll 48 on that same side and thereby to prevent the carrier from dropping out of its runway.

The base 22 of the frame has a lateral projection 64 on which there is secured a shoe support 66 having a nonslip surface 68 upon which the forepart of a lasted shoe may be rested with the shoe in upright position. Provision is also made for supporting the heel end of the shoe and since some shoes may be designed for Cuban heels and others for Louis heels, for example, the shoe support is provided with a plurality of heel rests 7t and 72 bolted in a plate 74 which is slidably received between guideways 76 so that, as the plate 74 is moved therein, one or the other of the heel rests may be brought into position opposite to a cover holder.

Attached to the metal plates 42 (Fig. 4), which form in eifect the steps of the carrier 34, are holders comprising blocks 80 which are elongated and tapered toward the top as appears most clearly in Fig. 2. The right-hand top portions of these blocks are cut down as shown at 82 in Fig. 4 to form a rest for supporting the extended toe portions of the covers and are rounded at 84 to engage the heel portions of the nested covers. the curved portion 84 there is a stepped portion 86 upon which the lower edges of the heel ends of the covers rest to position them heightwise and at the tops of the holders there are projecting, open-ended, cover-retaining plates 88 which overlie the top edges of the heel ends of the covers, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In order to pull the stack of covers reasonably taut on this holder, each one has an upstanding, forward spreader or abutment member 99 hinged upon a transverse pin 92 in a slot 94 of the holder. These forward spreader members, which are intended to be inserted in the ankle openings of the covers to engage the front ends thereof, are tapered at the top 96 for the easy application and removal of the covers. They are also each biased to the right by a light spring 98 contained within the holder block and are limited in their movement to the right as viewed in Fig. 4 by abutment rods 100 each of which is threaded in a plate 102 screwed to the end of the holder block.

In the particular form of holder which is illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the spreader abutment 90 cooperates with the abutment formed by the rounded heel end 84 to stretch the covers lengthwise lightly and to hold them firmly in their nested relation so that they are in position for an operator to grasp a tab 18 upon the topmost cover At the lower end of 4 with one hand to separate it from the stack and then to draw it back with the fingers of the other hand as illustrated in Fig. 4 to invert the cover over the lasted shoe S upon the heel rest 72. In so doing, the overhanging bars 88 prevent the accidental lifting of the heel ends of the whole stack of covers or of a single cover. The engagement of the outermost cover with the heel end of the shoe facilitates the operation of inverting a cover over the shoe.

In a modified cover holder, shown attached to a plate 42' mounted on the carrier 34 in Fig. 7, an upright having a tapered upper end 112 is provided with a base 114 through which there may be passed a pair of screws to attach this upright in any of a series of threaded holes 116 in the plate, thus providing for various lengths of covers. This upright has a pin 118 to support the toe ends 16 of the covers 10 and the tapered top end 112 of this upright is adapted for insertion in the front end of the ankle openings of the covers in the stack. At the heel end, another abutment 120 has a curved portion 122 to fit the heel ends of the covers. The lower end of this abutment 120 is positioned for sliding movement in a groove 124 formed in a plate 126 attached to the plate 42', to keep it upright. 0n the upper end of the abutment is an overhanging lip 128 which engages the upper edges of the heel ends of the covers as the lower edges thereof rest upon the end portion of the plate 126.

Provision is then made for urging the abutment 120 away from the abutment or spreader member 110 and to this end a helical spring 130 is interposed between the two and surrounds a tube 134 rigidly secured to the fixed abutment 110 and slidably receiving a rod 136 which is attached to the abutment 120. A stop collar 138 on the rod 136 limits the rearward movement of the abutment 7.20 and the fact that the lower end of the latter slides in the groove 124 prevents the rod from being turned with respect to the abutment 110.

In some instances it may be desired to grip the shoe in position upon the heel support 72 (Fig. 9) of a shoe support 66, the latter being attached to a base board 140. On this base board is mounted a block 142 to which there is attached, by means of a hinge 144, a holder block 146 similar to the block 80 of the holder shown in Fig. 4, except that a spreader 90' is urged to the right by a tension spring 98 surrounding a slidable guide rod 147. Further, a plate 148 corresponding to the plate 88 in Fig. 4 is extended to the left and has a down-turned end 159 so that, when the hinged holder block 146 is drawn down by a rod 152, the end of the plate 148 will grip the lasted shoe S upon the support 72' by engagement with the cone of the last L. In the arrangement shown, the rod 152 is attached to a bell crank 154 hinged in a bracket 156 which is attached to the bottom of the base board 140. This bell crank is biased in a counterclockwise direction by means of a spring 158 until stopped by the engagement of a screw 160 therein with the bottom of the base board. Also attached to the bell crank is a treadle rod 162 which may be attached to a treadle 164. Thus, the covers which are on the holder 146, and are supported at the heel end between a projection 186 and the underside of the plate 148, are stretched thereon by the biased abutment 90' as in the form shown in Fig. 4. The operation of inverting the cover is substantially the same as was described in connection with the first form of cover support except that the movement of the cover holder 146 toward the shoe is effective also to clamp the shoe in position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a support for a shoe in upright position, and means adjacent to said support for holding a closed shoe cover in an inverted position to permit it to be turned inside out and carried endwise over a shoe on the support, said means including a fixed support and a yieldable cover spreading arm.

2. In combination, a shoe support, and a holder for a stack of closed shoe covers adjacent thereto, said holder comprising spaced, relatively yielding means adapted for insertion in the ankle openings of the covers and operative to spread a closed cover in a direction alined with the axis of the shoe.

3. In combination, a shoe support and a holder for a stack of closed shoe covers adjacent thereto, said holder comprising means adapted for insertion in the ankle openings of the covers, and means for holding the toe portions of the covers in extended relation away from the shoe support.

4. In combination, a shoe support, a holder for a stack of closed shoe covers, said holder being movable with respect to said support, said holder comprising means adapted for insertion in a closed cover and having an overhanging member extending through the ankle opening toward the shoe support and also including a yieldable abutment engaging the opposite end of the ankle opening of a cover, and means for moving said holder toward a shoe on said support.

5. in combination, a shoe supoprt having a platform provided with shit'table, alternative, heel end supporting members, a holder adjacent thereto for a stack of closed shoe covers comprising a pair or" abutments one of which is adapted to engage the inside of the heel ends of the covers, the other abutment being movable and adapted to project through the ankle opening of the covers to engage the forward ends of said openings, and means for urging said abutments apart to pull out the nested covers.

6. In combination, a support for lasted shoes, a holder adjacent thereto for nested closed shoe covers having ankle openings, an overhanging member on said holder positioned for engagement with a last in a shoe on the support to grip it against the support, said holder also being provided with a yieldable abutment for engaging a forward end of the ankle opening, and means for moving said holder toward a shoe on the support.

7. In combination, a carrier movably mounted adjacent to a shoe presenting position, elongated holder blocks shaped like the inside of stacks of shoe covers and receivable therein, said blocks being mounted in series on said carrier, said holder blocks each comprising an upstanding abutment member adapted for insertion in the ankle openings of covers, one end of each holder block being associated with the heel ends of said covers and having an open-ended member overhanging said end and the covers to facilitate removal of the top cover by turning it inside out, an opposing abutment member associated with the other ends of the covers, one of said members being movable toward the other, a spring urging said members apart to stretch the covers, and means for indexing the carrier to bring chosen stacks into position adjacent to the presenting position.

8. In combination, a holder block for a stack of nested closed shoe covers comprising spreader members adapted for insertion in the ankle openings of the shoe covers, and means extending away from one member for holding the toe portions of the covers in extended relation, the portion of the block which is associated with the heel ends of the covers having a portion underlying the covers to determine the heightwise position of the stack and having a member overhanging a portion of the stack to facilitate removal of the top cover therefrom.

9. A holder for nested closed shoe covers, comprising a heel-end-engaging abutment, means adjacent thereto for determining the heightwise position of the stack of covers, and a spreader member adapted to pass through the ankle openings and to engage the forward ends thereof, said heel end abutment having a member overhanging the tops of the covers whereby the stripping of the topmost cover to invert it over a shoe will not substantially displace the position of the heel end of the cover.

10. A holder for a stack of nested closed shoe covers comprising an elongated block tapered upwardly and recessed near its middle portion to receive a displaceable spreader member adapted for engagement with the toe ends of the ankle openings of covers positioned on said block, a spring urging said spreader member toward the toe ends of the covers, and a stop limiting the forward movement of the spreader member.

11. A holder for a stack of nested closed shoe covers comprising an elongated block one end of which is rounded to engage the heel ends of the covers, a shoulder adjacent to the bottom of said heel end and upon which the heel ends of the covers rest, said heel-end-engaging abutment being provided with an overhanging member, and a spreader member at an intermediate position on said block adapted for engagement with the forward ends of the ankle openings of the covers, the portion of the block which lies forward of said spreader member serving to keep extended the top portion of the covers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 754,047 Burt et al. Mar. 8, 1904 1,908,272 Sommer May 9, 1933 2,509,056 Gartner May 23, 1950 2,580,525 David Jan. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,097 Australia Nov. 11, 1935 

